Connector for fixing hollow bodies to supports

ABSTRACT

Hollow bodies having a predetermined profile in a projection on a plane are fixed to supports having adherable surfaces by means of connectors having adherable surfaces and consisting of twopart snap fasteners having mating male and female elements. Adhesive forces are produced between adherable surfaces of said connectors on the one hand, and of said support and said hollow bodies, on the other hand, whereby said connectors are adhesively joined to said support and hollow bodies. Snap fastener joints are formed between said male and female elements.

United States Patent [151 3,683,461 Weidemann 1451 Aug. 15, 1972 4]CONNECTOR FOR FIXING HOLLOW 1,820,041 8/1931 Barrows ..52/366 BODIES TOSUPPORTS 3,067,536 12/1962 Brittsan ..40/ 143 X Inventor: Rudolfweidemann Gansestrasse Brown Dusseldmfi Germany FOREIGN PATENTS 0RAPPLICATIONS [221 May 1970 1,568,783 4/1969 France ..40/1 [21] Appl.No.: 34,086

I Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin l Foreign Application Priority DamAttorney M1chae S Stnker May 7, 1970 Germany ..P 19 23 298.5 [5 ABSTRACTHollow bodies having a predetermined profile in a [22] 1.1.8.51 128,42/133 projection on a plane are fixed to supports having 'i 40 T SP Pherable surfaces by means of connectors having ad- 1 o I 4 herablesurfaces and consisting of two-part snap I fasteners having mating maleand female elements. 56] R f (Red Adhesive forces are produced betweenadherable sure erences I faces of said connectors on the one hand, andof said UNITED STATES PATENTS support and said hollow bodies, on theother hand, whereby said connectors are adhesively joined to said g; g'i'a support and hollow bodies. Snap fastener joints are agnere f dbt a1df al 1 3,258,870 7/1966 Offenhauer ..40/143 e weensa' m e an em 6 63,475,794 11/1969 Seckerson ..24/73 HS 4 Clains, 3 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDAUB 1 5 I972 llll Inventor- CONNECTOR FOR FIXING HOLLOW BODIESTO SUPPORTS This invention relates to means for fixing hollow bodies tosupports by means of two-part connectors.

The hollow bodies may preferably consist of marking means of all kinds,such as are used conventionally particularly in advertising in the formof letters, combinations of letters, numerals, combinations of lettersand numerals, trade marks, brands, abbreviations of the names ofmanufacturers and/or products, diagrammatic representations, drawings,emblems etc. Such hollow bodies may be made from transparent or opaquematerials, such as glass and synthetic resins. Many of these hollowbodies contain lighting fixtures or are formed by or covered with suchlighting fixtures, which may consist of high-voltage or low-voltagefluorescent tubes.

The supports to which such hollow bodies may be fixed consist in mostcases of masonry, cement, concrete walls, sandstone, shell limestone,granite, marble, artificial stone, .slabs, metal plates, glass,synthetic resin, plaster of Paris, plaster, mortar, steel sections,aluminum and similar materials, although this listing does not excludethe use of other materials, such as solid rock, if mountain slopes areto be provided with advertising to be read by the users of vehiclesmoving past said mountain slopes The connections between such hollowbodies and supports must meet numerous requirements. For instance, ifthe hollow bodies form the letters of a word It is an object of thepresent invention to provide means for fixing hollow bodies to supportswhereby the disadvantages of the previous proposals can be avoided.

or if words consisting of letters should form a sentence,

the upper and lower ends of the letters should be defined bymathematically exact, straight lines so that the impression to theobserver is not disturbed by an irregular arrangement of the letters orwords. The letters must also be regularly spaced. If the hollow bodiesshould form a figure, the same must be exactly defined. Above all, thefixing means should resist the weather. Even stormy wind must not tearoff a hollow body so that the same could fall down and injure humanbeings or objects. The hollow bodies must not produce a rattling noise,which could disturb the peace. Hollow bodies which have failed as aresult of arbitrary damage (thrown stones) or by foreign bodies (fallingbranches) or because their life has expired (weathering) must be quicklyand easily replaceable. These requirements will be multiplied if, e.g.,electrical connections are required for internal and/or externallighting fixtures. The above listing of the requirements to be met isnot complete.

For the reasons stated above, numerous processes and means for fixinghave proposed in order to meet all requirements to be fulfilled. It hasbeen found that the measures which have been proposed constituteattempts more or less to meet the requirements to be fulfilled but donot meet all such requirements. Specifically, all proposals requiring aformation of tapped holes in the supports so that they can at leastpartly receive suitable connecting means have not resulted in asatisfactory solution because assembling work of this kind is expensivewhen it is performed in the open and dangerous when it is performed at alarge height. Besides, the assembling time is so long that the problemcannot be solved in this manner.

A snap fastener joint is formed by elements which are held togetherpartly by friction and partly by a positive connection. Such connectoris formed, e.g., by a twopart snap fastener which serves to fasten partsof garments consisting of textile fabrics. A snap fastener comprises amale element in the form of a pin having an enlarged or conical head,and a confronting female element having an aperture through which theconical or enlarged head of the pin can be forced. In a snap fastenerfor connecting textile fabrics, the natural elasticity of the material(spring steel) is sufficient to enable a forcing of the head of the maleelement or pin through the aperture of the secondary element and afterthe disengagement between the enlarged pin and the aperture a return ofthe parts to their original shape so that the male and female elementsare positively joined until a new force action tending to separate thesnap fastener results in such a resilient deformation of the two snapfastener elements that the latter are separated from each other. Theforces to be applied will be reduced if one or both elements of the snapfastener are slit, and these forces will be increased if the aperturedsecondary element is provided with additional springs, which grip thehead of the primary element when the same has been forced through theentrance of the secondary element and by their spring action exert anadditional grip on the head.

The manner in which the required adhesive forces are produced is notsignificant. The adherable surfaces may simply consist of contactsurfaces for adhesives although the use of other means, such as soldersor welds between metal elements, are not excluded. As the hollow bodiesconsist preferably of synthetic resins, the adhesive end faces of thetwo-part connectors will generally be provided with synthetic resinadhesives. The adhesive joints may be as strong as the synthetic resinjoined by the adhesive.

A connector according to the present invention is characterized by amale snap fastener element having an adhesive end face at the endopposite to the enlarged or resilient pin portion and a female snapfastener element which serves to receive the enlarged portion of themale snap fastener element and opposite to its aperture has an adhesiveend face. Particularly desirable male and female elements will beobtained if, e.g., the adhesive end face of the male element is formedby a baseplate, which is made so that its size can be reduced in asimple manner by breaking off portions of the plate so that the same caneasily be accommodated in the cavity of a hollow body. The femaleelements may be formed with frustoconical members which are apertured attheir smaller end and provided at their larger end with an adherableannular end face. In a kinematically inverted arrangement, the maleelement may be frustoconical and have a larger end face confronting thefemale element consisting of a baseplate which is provided with anadherable end face and with an aperture mating the male element. Aformation of the apertures in the support or in walls of the hollow bodyinvolves a higher expenditure.

Additional details and advantages of the invention will now be explainedwith reference to an embodiment shown by way of example on theaccompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing ahollow body provided in a distribution corresponding to the basicprofile of the hollow body with frustoconical female snap fastenerelements formed with holes in their small end portion.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view showing a baseplate provided with a malesnap fastener element.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken through a device provided with the aidof the parts shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 shows a hollow body 10, which is a representation of any desiredcharacter, figure, numerals, letter and/or any other marking elementhaving a certain meaning. This marking element is preferably assembledon a support of any kind together with additional individual bodies ofthe same kind to form a combination which represents a drawing or figureor a combination of letters and/or numerals. It is apparent that theillus trated hollow body 10 represents a capital letter H of aconventional alphabet. The hollow body 10 is U- shaped in cross-section.A support 16 closes the cavity which is defined by the hollow body 10.The support 16 carries also means for fixing the letter in position.FIG. 1 shows the letter as viewed from the side facing the support 16.The hollow body which is U-shaped in cross-section has a visible web 8and limbs 13. Female snap fastener elements are secured, e.g.,adhesively joined to the visible surface of the web. To ensure a uniformdistribution and adequate stability, four female snap fastener elements5 are respectively provided at the outer corners of the capital H. Itwill be understood that the female snap fastener elements may beprovided in entirely different arrays.

FIG. 2 shows one of the baseplates l which are used to form adhesive endfaces for the male snap fastener elements 4. A male snap fastenerelement in the form of a conical pin 4 is provided at the center of thebaseplate l. The pin is integral with the plate 1. Longitudinal and/ortransverse grooves 3 are provided to facilitate the breaking of marginalportions from the baseplate so that the baseplate 1 can be reduced insize immediately when this is required. The need for a reduction in sizemay not be ascertained until the baseplate 1 has been adhered to thesupport 16 in areas outside the grooves 3. In that case it will besufficient to insert a screwdriver or chisel into the grooves so thatthese can be burst off subsequently whereby the adhesive joint isdestroyed. In this way any portions of the baseplate which protrude fromthe hollow body 10 when the snap fastener joint has been established canbe eliminated.

The baseplate l is also formed with holes ll, 12 by which the weight ofthe baseplate is reduced and through which additional adhesive may beapplied so that new joining surfaces may be provided adjacent to themouths of the holes. These holes may also be used in the formation ofadhesive rivets if the holes flare toward the hollow body 10. In thisway, the adhesive filling the holes may be positively joined to thebaseplates because the adhesive filling the holes when set constitutesadhesive rivets. In addition to cylindrical holes 11, the baseplate isprovided with conical holes 12.

The snap fastener pin 4 comprises a pilot end portion 14 which issmaller in cross-section and facilitates the insertion of the snapfastener pin into the snap fastener hole 15. The body of the pin whichsucceeds the pilot portion may be spherical or enlarged in the form ofan ellipsoid so that the strength of the snap fastener joint isincreased.

FIG. 3 shows an assembled device according to the invention. A baseplatel is adhered to the support 16. Only a part of the web and one limb 13of the hollow body 1.0 is shown in this figure. The hollow body 10 issecured to the support 16 by means of a female snap fastener element 5.The snap fastener pin 4 has been inserted into the central hole 15 inthe end portion 6 of the hollow-conical member 5 so that the pin 4constitutes the male element of the snap fastener.

It is also apparent from FIG. 3 that the vertical limb 13 of the hollowbody 10 contacts the support 16 and this is enabled without need foradditional measures. As a result, there will be no adhesive on theoutside surface of the hollow body 10 and the individual bodies 10 whensecured to the base have a satisfactory appearance.

The baseplate 1 provided with the grooves 3 is small relative to theindividual body 10 which represents a character but a larger baseplatemight be used. If the baseplate is too large, the outer portions of thebaseplate can be pinched or burst off so that any baseplate may bereduced to such a size that it will not protrude from a hollow body 10.

FIG. 3 shows details of the female snap fastener element. The lattercomprises a hollow frustoconical member 5, which is made, e.g., ofpolymethacrylic ester, which is a transparent synthetic resin. Thesmaller end 6 of the portion 5 is formed with a hole 15 for receivingthe pin 4 of the snap fastener. The larger end 7 of the portion 5 isprovided with an adherable annular end face and contacts the web of theU-Shaped hollow body 10. An adhesive joint is formed adjacent to thelarge end 7.

The connector according to the invention may be applied with or withoutthe use of templates. Where templates are used, they will be provided oneach letter. When no template is used, the desired position of the loweredge of a hollow body in the form of a character may be defined by themarking out of a straight line. Alternatively, a line defining the upperedge may be marked out or parallel lines may be provided to indicate thedesired position of the characters. This will ensure a uniformappearance with a minimum expenditure. The snap fastener pins 4 are thenforced into the holes 15 of the snap fastener. The protruding portion orportions of the baseplate extending beyond the edges of the letter is orare now burst off or pinched off or eliminated in another manner,usually before the assembling, so that the baseplate will have noportions which protrude beyond the individual bodies. The application ofthe connector may then be continued in various ways. For instance, themale snap fastener elements may be secured to the support 16 and femaleelements 5 may be arranged in the hollow body 10 or 8, 13 to face themale elements 1, 4. The female elements 5 may be adhesively joined tothe wall 8 of the hollow body and the hollow body may then be forcedonto the male snap fastener elements 1, 4 so that the holes 15 in thefemale snap fastener elements 5 receive the pins 4.

Alternatively, the female snap fastener elements 5 are arranged in anarray which corresponds to the basic configuration of the hollow body or8, l3 and in that array may be adhered to the wall 8. The still loosemale snap fastener elements 1, 4, 14 are then formed onto the cones sothat the pins 4 enter through respective holes and the baseplatesconnected to the pins are thus joined to the female snap fastenerelementsS. The baseplates 1 are now covered on that boundary surfacewhich faces the support 16 with an adhesive and the entire hollow body8, 13 or 10 and the parts 1, 4, 5 joined thereto are forced against thesupport 16 so that the parts assume the position shown in FIG. 3. Thisstep may be kinematically inverted in that male and female snap fastenerelements 1, 4, 14 and 5, 15 are interconnected. That surface of thebaseplates 1 which faces the support 16 may then be covered with anadhesive, whereafter the assembly 1, 4, l4, 5, 15 is joined to part 16.When this has been accomplished, the adherable annular surfaces 7 of thefemale elements 5 are covered with an adhesive and the entire hollowbody 8, 13 is forced onto the annular surfaces 7 so that the finalposition shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. Modifications are possible in thatthe adhesive is not applied to the free boundary surface of the maleand/or female elements but to the respective opposite surfaces, namely,the support 16 on its boundary surface facing the hollow body and/or thewall 8 of the hollow body on its inside surface. Alternatively, anadhesive may be provided on all surfaces. Each of these modifications ofthe process produces the result shown in FIG. 3. The selection of themode in which the connector is applied will depend on individualconditions. The advantages which are apparent from the showing in FIG. 3will always be afforded. Above all, the hollow bodies 10 or 8, 13 mayreadily be pulled from the support 16 although the hollow body is firmlymounted on said support 16. The taper of the pins 4 may be selected toensure that desired retaining forces will be obtained. It has alreadybeen pointed out that pins having the above mentioned enlarged portionsmay be used rather than conical pins 4 and will result in a snapfastener joint which is similar to that in a garment.

Letters which are very large and heavy and which may be dislocated bygravity may be held in position by means of a creped adhesive tape untilthe adhesive has been sufficiently set to take up the weight of theletters.

The use of templates is recommended if the bodies in the form of lettersare to be attached with a higher accuracy. The templates for all lettersare first tacked in position in the proper sequence. The templates arethen pierced at the fixing points with a pencil or another pointedobject. The pierced points are marked out on the support. The templatesare then removed and the marks on the support 16 now provide points ofreference indicating where the baseplates l are to be applied so thatthey can be adhered or secured by other means.

It is inherent in the invention that the same is not restricted to theillustrative embodiment.

What is claimed is:

1. A connector for fixing a hollow body to supports having adherablesurfaces, said connector having adherable surfaces and comprising, incombination, a

male sna fastenerelement which comprises a in and a holder or said pm,said holder having an ad erable boundary surface and a female snapfastener element having an apertured portion which is adapted to receivesaid pin and to locate said pin as in a snap fastener, said female snapfastener element having an adherable boundary surface, said pin holderconsisting of a baseplate which protrudes over the base end of said pinand has an adherable boundary surface remote from said pin, said holderbeing provided with weakened portions which enable a removal of marginalportions of the holder from the remainder of the holder by the action ofsmall deforming forces, said apertured portion consisting of a small endportion of a frustoconical hollow member, which at its end remote fromsaid apertured portion is provided with an adhera- 1 ble surface, saidmale and female snap fastener elements consisting of polymethacrylicacid synthetic resin.

2. A connector for fixing a hollow body to supports having adherablesurfaces, said connector having adherable surfaces and comprising, incombination, a male snap fastenerelement comprising a pin and a holderfor said pin, said pin holder having an adherable boundary surfaceremote from said pin, said holder being provided with weakened portionswhich enable removal of marginal portions of said holder from theremainder thereof, by the action of small deforming forces; and a femalehollow snap fastener element having at one end thereof an aperturedportion adapted to receive said pin to hold the latter as in a snapfastener and having at its end remote from said apertured portion anadherable boundary surface.

3. A connector as defined in claim 2, wherein said female snap fastenerelement is a hollow frustoconical member provided at its small diameterend with said apertured portion.

4. A connector as defined in claim 2, wherein said pin holder comprisesa base plate extending laterally beyond the base end of said pin, saidweakened portions being provided in said base plate.

1. A connector for fixing a hollow body to supports having adherablesurfaces, said connector having adherable surfaces and comprising, incombination, a male snap fastener element which comprises a pin and aholder for said pin, said holder having an adherable boundary surfaceand a female snap fastener element having an apertured portion which isadapted to receive said pin and to locate said pin as in a snapfastener, said female snap fastener element having an adherable boundarysurface, said pin holder consisting of a baseplate which protrudes overthe base end of said pin and has an adherable boundary surface remotefrom said pin, said holder being provided with weakened portions whichenable a removal of marginal portions of the holder from the remainderof the holder by the action of small deforming forces, said aperturedportion consisting of a small end portion of a frustoconical hollowmember, which at its end remote from said apertured portion is providedwith an adherable surface, said male and female snap fastener elementsconsisting of polymethacrylic acid synthetic resin.
 2. A connector forfixing a hollow body to supports having adherable surfaces, saidconnector having adherable surfaces and comprising, in combination, amale snap fastener element comprising a pin and a holder for said pin,said pin holder having an adherable boundary surface remote from saidpin, said holder being provided with weakened portions which enableremoval of marginal portions of said holder from the remainder thereof,by the action of small deforming forces; and a female hollow snapfastener element having at one end thereof an apertured portion adaptedto receive said pin to hold the latter as in a snap fastener and havingat its end remote from said apertured portion an adherable boundarysurface.
 3. A connector as defined in claim 2, wherein said female snapfastener element is a hollow frustoconical member provided at its smalldiameter end with said apertured portion.
 4. A connector as defined inclaim 2, wherein said pin holder comprises a base plate extendinglaterally beyond the base end of said pin, said weakened portions beingpRovided in said base plate.